Trunk-caster.



No. 887,327. PATENTED MAY 12, 1908.

F. HERKERT, JR. TRUNK OASTER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 5 1907.

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FREDERICK IIERKERT, .llt, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

TRUNK-CASTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 12, 1908.

Application filed October 5, 1907. Serial No. 396,031.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK HERKERT, Jr, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvement in Trunk- Casters, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, inwhich Figure 1 is a sectional view of a portion of a trunk showing myimproved caster attached thereto, said caster also being in sec tion;and Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the members which form my/caster, disassembled or detached from each other.

This invention relates to trunk casters, and has for its object toprovide a trunk caster which is so constructed that the roller or wheelthereof cannot become ammed or accidentally detached from the bearing inwhich it is mounted. The trunk casters which have heretofore been ingeneral use consisted of a bearing having a pair of wings or earsbetween which a roller or wheel was arranged, said roller being mountedon a horizontal pin that passed through said wings or ears and wasriveted or upset at its ends to retain it in position. Casters of thedescription just referred to have not proved satisfactory for the reasonthat the pin on which the roller or wheel was mounted would pull out ofthe wings of the bearing and thus permit the roller to drop out of thebearing. The reason the roller pin would pull out easily was because itwas secured in position merely by upsetting or riveting its ends and asthe pin had to be formed of very hard material it was impossible toupset it sufliciently to provide a head that would prevent it frompulling out of the hearing when the wheel or roller was subjected to aheavy blow, as for example, when the trunk was thrown off a truck. Anattempt was made to overcome this defect in the caster by using a pin ofcomparatively soft material so that it could be upset easily to providea large head but the pin was so soft that it bent when the roller wassubjected to excessive strain and thereby caused the roller to jam inits bearing.

As previously stated, the main object of my invention is to provide acaster in which the roller cannot become jammed or detached accidentallyand to this end I have devised a caster in which the wheel or roller ismounted on a pin of hard material that passes through wings on thebearing and is retained in position by portions of the bearing thatembrace said wings and extend over the ends of said pin.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred form of myinvention, 1 designates the wheel or roller of the caster, and 2 the pinon which said roller is mounted. The bearing is preferably composed ofseveral parts that can either be formed from cast metal or sheet metalbent to the proper shape. I prefer to form said members from hard sheetmetal such, for example, as steel as I can stamp them out of a steelplate and bend them-into proper shape at a low cost. The bearingcomprises a member A provided with downwardly projecting ears or wings 3through which the roller pin 2 passes and a member B provided with lugs4 and i that embrace the wings 2 of the member A so as to extend overthe ends of the pin 2 and prevent it from pulling out or being displacedfrom the wings in which it is journaled, the member A being secured tothe underneath side of the member B. The lugs 4 and 4 of the member Bnot only prevent the pin 2 from being displaced but they also strengthenthe ears 3 of the memberA and prevent them from bending. I have hereinshown the member B provided with one integral lug 4 and a lug 4 formedby a separate piece of metal, but, if desired, both of the lugs 4 and 4*could be formed integral with the member B without departing from thespirit of my invention.

An integral upstanding portion 5 on the member B is provided withopenings 6 to receive rivets or other suitable fastening devices 7 thatpass through the side of the trunk, and the portion of the member B thatengages the bottom of the trunk is provided with openings 8 to receiverivets or fastening devices 9, said rivets also being utilized to securethe lug 4 and the member A to the underneath side of the member B.

When attaching the caster to the trunk I prefer to first drive therivets 7 which pass through the portion 5 of member B, then arrange thelug 4 in position and drive the rivet which connects said lug to themember B, said rivet also passing through the bottom of the trunk, andthereafter arrange the member A between the lugs 4L and 4 and drive therivets which secure said member to I the member B and also aid insecuring the member B to the bottom of the trunk. The ends of the pin 2are not upset or riveted Over but extend perfectly flush with theoutside faces of the wings 3 so that the pin can be formed from veryhard material and as the lugs 4 and 4 snugly embrace the wings 3 of themember A it will be impossible for the pin 2 to pull out of itsbearings. It will, of course, be undertood that my improved caster isnot limited in its use to trunks but could be used on other objects andwhile I have herein shown the member B as being provided with anupwardly projecting portion 5 that embraces the side of the trunk itwill be obvious that this portion 5 could be omitted without departingfrom my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A caster comprising a member having ears that are provided withopenings, a pin journaled in said openings and having a roller mountedthereon, and means separate and distinct from the member first referredto and embracing same to cover the ends of said pin to retain it inposition; substantially as described.

2. A caster comprising a sheet metal attaching member provided with anintegral downwardly projecting lug, a separate part secured to saidmember to form a second downwardly projecting lug, a sheet metal devicesecured to the underneath side of said attaching member and providedwith integral wings that are arranged between the lugs thereon, a pinpassing through openings in said wings and having its ends covered bythe lugs on the attaching member, and a roller mounted on said pinsubstantially as described.

3. A caster comprising a sheet metal member which rests against thebottom of a trunk or similar object and having an upwardly projectingportion that is secured to one side of the trunk, downwardly projectinglugs on said member, a part which contacts with the underneath side ofsaid member, fastening devices passing through said part and member tosecure them to the bottom of the trunk, ears on said part which areembraced by the lugs on said member, a pin of uniform cross sectionpassing through openings in said ears and butting against the insidefaces of the lugs on said member, and a wheel or roller mounted on saidpin; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence oftwo Witnesses, this second day of October 1907.

FREDERICK HERKERT, JR.

Witnesses:

l/VELLs L. CHURCH, GEORGE BAKEWELL.

